City to begin road-widening projects

Published: Tuesday, May 14, 2013 at 11:46 AM.

Some could face condemnation

Each of the four projects present their own unique challenges. For Myrtle School Road, the complicating detail is the length of the road to be widened.

Two miles involves a lot of utility poles, which carry power and telecommunications lines owned by the city, Duke Energy, AT&T and Time Warner Cable, Bost said. It takes extensive coordination and planning to relocate so much infrastructure.

When the work is done, the city will have 30 feet of right of way on either side of the new, three-lane road.

Gastoniaspent the last five months negotiating with more than 130 property owners with respect to 166 parcels on either side of the road. Bost said the city hired local firms to appraise the value of the land, then used that to start deliberations.

When landowners asked for a little more money to pay for a dog fence, driveway or storm drain that might have to be ripped up, Bost said the city tried to play ball.

“We made a lot of accommodations here and there for property owners where it was reasonable,” he said.

Three long years have passed since Gastonia voters approved funding for four major road-widening projects.

Very soon, frustrated motorists who have pined for signs of progress will finally see it.

In June, the city will begin clearing 1.7 miles of newly purchased right of way along Myrtle School/Davis Park Road, which now has only two lanes. Trees, driveways and other obstructions will be removed to make way for the relocation of utility lines and the construction of a third turn lane between Franklin and Hudson Boulevards.

By the end of the year, the same right of way clearing should begin along South New Hope Road, from Burtonwood Drive to Garrison Boulevard; and along Titman Road, from New Hope to Lowell-Bethesda roads. Turn lanes are being added there as well.

The fourth widening project on Union Road, between Osceola Street and Niblick Drive, is further back in the pecking order.

In May 2010, voters approved a bond referendum that will devote $24.6 million to widening the four spans. But it wasn’t as simple for the city as pouring asphalt the day after the polls closed. Design work, right of way acquisitions and utility relocations are complicated and time-consuming, said Gastonia City Engineer Rusty Bost.

The good news is, all the behind-the-scenes work will soon translate into construction people can see, he said.

Some could face condemnation

Each of the four projects present their own unique challenges. For Myrtle School Road, the complicating detail is the length of the road to be widened.

Two miles involves a lot of utility poles, which carry power and telecommunications lines owned by the city, Duke Energy, AT&T and Time Warner Cable, Bost said. It takes extensive coordination and planning to relocate so much infrastructure.

When the work is done, the city will have 30 feet of right of way on either side of the new, three-lane road.

Gastoniaspent the last five months negotiating with more than 130 property owners with respect to 166 parcels on either side of the road. Bost said the city hired local firms to appraise the value of the land, then used that to start deliberations.

When landowners asked for a little more money to pay for a dog fence, driveway or storm drain that might have to be ripped up, Bost said the city tried to play ball.

“We made a lot of accommodations here and there for property owners where it was reasonable,” he said.

Landowners received $1 per square foot on average, Bost said. The city will ultimately spend about $900,000 for right of way costs and legal fees, he said.

Last week, the city began condemnation proceedings against four parties it could not reach an agreement with. Bost believes that was an encouraging number.

“On a project of this size, historically you aren’t able to reach an agreement with 10 percent of (affected landowners),” he said. “After condemnation proceedings begin, 1 percent of those typically go to court.”

Settlements could still be reached with the four remaining landowners before condemnation takes effect, Bost said. Beginning the proceedings allows the city to keep the widening project moving forward in the meantime.

Movement on Myrtle School

The right of way clearance that commences in June will be followed by utility line relocations beginning in August or September. That could take up to a year.

“It’s a very convoluted dance,” Bost said.

But the city is examining options for phasing the work, so it could begin widening the road while the utility shuffle is still underway.

“We see some options for doing some sequencing,” he said. “It will turn it into a little bit of a ballet act.”

Many people ask why the city doesn’t just put the utility lines underground. The reason is it would cost four to five times more, Bost said.

For the half-mile of New Hope Road to be widened, the cheapest and quickest option will be to leave utility lines where they are and buy right of way on the east side of the road, Bost said. Once it is acquired, that will allow the city to begin widening New Hope much quicker.

The Titman Road project will also benefit from not being as long or as complicated as the one on Myrtle School.

“Those are shorter roads that don’t involve us having as much to relocate,” said Bost. “We’ll probably be going out to bid (for construction) in spring of next year for Titman and New Hope.”

Design work on the Union Road widening is lagging behind, due to staff limitations. But Bost said as engineers get more accomplished on the other three projects, they’ll have more time to shift focus to Union.

You can reach Michael Barrett at 704-869-1826 or twitter.com/GazetteMike.

Road widening projects to be funded through the 2010 million bond package:

1. Myrtle School/Davis Park Road, to three lanes from Franklin to Hudson – $9.2 million – 1.7 miles

2. South New Hope Road, to five lanes from Burtonwood to Garrison – $5.7 million ($1.1 million city share) – 0.55 miles

3. Titman Road, to three lanes from New Hope to Lowell-Bethesda – $5.6 million – 1.01 miles

4. Union Road, to five lanes from Niblick to Osceola – $8.7 million – 1.02 miles